Hame and trace connector.



1.3. I". WREN; HAME AND TRACE CONNECTOR.

APPLIUATION FILED MAB. 27, 19055.

906,353.v Patented Dec .8,1908.

attenua,

j BENJAMIN E. wEEN, or BoEE-NE, TEXAS.

HAME AND TRACE CONNECTOR.

Specification of LettersrPatent.

Patented ne. s, 1908.

Application fledrMarch 27, 1908. Serial No. 423,713.

To all whom fit may concern:v f

Be it known that'l, BENJAMIN F. WREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boerne, in the county of Kendall and State of Texas, have invented new and useful lmprovements in Hame and Trace Connectors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hames and connectors for coupling the traces therewith, the main object of the invention being to provide a simple and effective Construction of coupling means for attaching the trace to the hame at different elevations to suit differentsized horses, as Well as to provide a connector which will securely engage the hame against any possible liability of accidental disengagement and yet may be readily applied and re# moved at all times.

" invention consists of the features of construcview of the connector.

tion, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which z- Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan Fig. 3 is an outer side elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a horizontal longitudinal section taken on line 4-4`of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a cross-section onV line 64-6 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates one of the harnes of a harness, which is provided with a plurality of keepers 2, of loop form to receive the adjacent en d. of the connector hereinafter described, which hame and keepers may be constructed and combined in any preferred manner.

The hame and trace connector 3, which is designed for coupling a chain or other trace 4 with either one of the keepers 2, comprises an elongated bar having .keeper and trace engaging ends. The keeper engaging end is provided with a forwardly projecting portion 5 constituting a hook and which is arranged in spaced relation to a guide lug or projection 6 formed with a longitudinal bore or passage 7. Arranged for movement in the space between said hook andlug is a latch 8 providedv with a rearwardly projecting stern 9 slidably engaging the bore or pas* sage 7, and formed with an inwardly extend` ing bearing portion 10 and an outwardly extending finger piece or portionv 11. The stem 7 and bearingfportion" 10, which latter bears against the adjacent portion of the face of the bar, guide the latch for movement in a straight path,and-arranged between the lug and rear portion of the body of the latch isv av coiledspring 12 normally tending to hold the latch closed. To further guide as well as to strengthen the latch againstthe strains falling upon it, the portions 10 and 11 of the latch are formed with a threaded bore to receive a right angular guide stem 13 movable in a slot 14 in the bar and provided at its inner end with a headf15 fitted to slide in a recess 16 in the bar communicating with said slot, said recess being of greater length and depth than the slot so as to provide an intervening shoulder against whichr the head bears, whereby the latch is limited'in its outward movement and strengthened against the pressures and strains falling thereon. The portion of the bar adjacent the hook 5 is adapted to fit the side ofthe lhaine 1 and body portion of the engaged keeper 2, with hook 5 extending forwardly` beyond said keeper, which latter is received'into a space 17 between the front face of the bar, the rear face of the forward portionk of the latch, the bearing portion 10 and the inner surface of the hook 5, which face is formed by cutting away a portion of the latch, thus providing for the secure retention of the kee er in position. The forward end of the latch is formed with a tongue 18 to engage a recess 19 in the hook, to more firmly and positively connect said parts when the latch is projected.

The mode of engaging thefhooked end of the connector with either keeper to connect the trace with the hamey at a hi her or lower point or elevation according to t e size of the horse will be readily understood, and it will be seen that by merely engaging the thumb or nger with the curved forward surface of the linger piece 11 of the latch the latter may be quickly slid backward to free the keeperV in the form of a reduced shank 20, the rear l that the link may then be readily moved out or trace engagin end of which is provided with a downward y and forwardly projecting hook 21 to engage the end link of the cham trace 4 or an e uivalent engaging member upon a trace o any other character. A latch 22 is provided to ermit of the free engagement of the trace linkwi-th the hook 21 and to retain such link in connection there with. This latch is vertically disposedand is in the form of a substantially H-shaped plate bifurcated at its lower end to provide arms 23 straddling the forward end of the tonguey 21 and pivotally connected therewith by a transverse pivot pin 24, the upper wall of such lower bifurcation being upwardly and rearwardly beveled, as at 25, to permit said latch to be swung rearwardly and downwardly to retracted position,v as shownA in dotted lines in Fig. 3, for the ready release of the trace link7 the latch being supported against further downward movement in such position by the engagement of such beveled surface with the upper face of the hook 21. The upper end of the latch is bifurcated tol a less degree to provide short parallel arms 26 to engage the op osite sides of a guiding and bracing rib or we 27 formed upon the underside of the shank by recessing the opposite faces thereof, which recesses receive the said arms 26. By this means it will be apparent that the upper or free end of the latch will be effectively guided and braced securely against lateral or transverse strain. The latch lies when in closed position at a forward inclination with its arms 26 resting against shoulders 28 formed at the forward ends of said recesses in advance of the pivot member 24, by which the latch is retained by gravity in trace-retaining position and also by the trace link which limits its rearward movement and serves to support the latch in the event of the latter dropping backward out of closed position. The space between the hook 21 and lower surface of the shank is suilcient to permit of the link being slightly elevated so as to clear the latch and permit the latter` to be fully turned down to an open position, so

of engagement with the hook.

The mode of application of the device for s connectin the trace with the hame is clearly shown in ig. 1, and from the forelgping description of the construction it w' -be aparentthat the invention provides a convenlent and simple e of connector which may be easily and quickly connected with and disconnected fromthe. hame and trace. and will securely couple the; arts together, and that the construction is. so such as to adapt the device to be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new is:-

1. A hame and. trace connector comprising a bar provided'at its rear end with a traceengaging ortion and at its forward end with a guide ug and a keeper-engaging hook spaced therefrom, a latch movable in the space thus formed and having a stem slidably en aging the guide lug and a second stem sli ably engaging the bar, said second stem being formed to provide with the bar and hook a keeper receiving space, and a spring associated with the first-named stem and disposed between the lug and latch to project the latter to closed position.

2. A hame and trace connector comprising a bar provided at its forward end with hame engaging means, and having at its rear end a downwardly and forwardly projecting trace engaging hook and a central downwardly projecting guide rib arranged above said hook and forming receiving spaces at opposite sides thereof, and a retaining latch bifurcated at its lower end to straddlethe hook and pivotally connected therewith and bifurcated at its opposite end to receive and engage said rib and provide arms moving in i 

